


Don't Go Without Me

by FlyleafAndVampires8



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge (loosely based), Eventual Sex, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff, Heavy Angst, M/M, Making Out, Marriage Proposal, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-11-10
Packaged: 2017-12-30 03:02:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyleafAndVampires8/pseuds/FlyleafAndVampires8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the song "C'est la Mort" by the Civil Wars.</p><p>After the battle on Olympus, Nico realizes that he cares for Percy much more than he’d like to admit to anyone. He blushes when they even accidentally brush each other, and he has a hard time sword-fighting him without feeling the urge to kiss him. And to his utmost horror, Nico has fallen for the stupid, completely oblivious, son of Poseidon.<br/>Little does he know that Percy has been thinking about him more than he’d ever admit—other than to Annabeth. He begins to realize that his crush for Annabeth is fading and that his feelings for Nico are growing stronger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Holding Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to all!  
> After the recent light of events that took place in House of Hades (spoilers ahead) I knew I had to write a Percico fic. I shipped it before Nico's confession, but now I ship it even harder. And recently discovering the beautiful and perfect song "C'est la Mort" by the Civil Wars, it clicked. It's mainly based off of the 30 Day OTP Challenge, but it will waver eventually when it hits The Lost Hero.  
> Nico and Percy may seem a little OOC in this, so I apologize ahead of time. However, I've had some serious fun writing this so far, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

_Just focus. It’s not that hard. You’ve done this for four years now. Get a hold of yourself._

Percy Jackson let out a huff of breath as he clutched his knees, sweat dripping from his skin. Annabeth was a skilled fighter—a much better one than him—and with the way a bare-chested son of Hades was dueling a new camper beside him, his eyes kept wandering, giving Annabeth a distraction at almost every turn. “Gods, Seaweed Brain. Just tell the guy you like him already.”

The words seemed to snap Percy out of his trance as he stared into Annabeth’s eyes. Her hands were on her hips and a frown was curled on her lips. Her cheeks were red—but Percy couldn’t tell if it was from the summer heat or embarrassment. He suddenly felt bad that he hadn’t tried to make his attraction to Nico less obvious to Annabeth—she still had feelings for him. But she was still, nonetheless, a friend before a girlfriend—and she had promised to support Percy whatever decision he made. “I don’t know how.”

“It’s not hard. I can do it for you.” Annabeth started walking forwards with a certain determination in her eyes, but Percy gripped her wrist and yanked her back.

“No, it’ll look stupid if you do it. I need to do it myself.”

“Then do it. C’mon, Perce, look at the kid.”

And Percy did look.

Nico’s hair had gotten so long in the past year that he was able to tie a small knot at the back of his head. His bangs hung in his eyes, soaked in sweat. A smirk gleamed on his lips and small cuts bleeding red littered his arms. He didn’t seem too hurt by the small, measly injuries, but instead, it seemed to encourage him. His opponent laid collapsed under the tree, being revived by a cup of nectar from an Apollo kid. _Since when did he become a good fighter?_

“Tonight they’re having the annual fireworks. And if you don’t tell him your feelings by then, I’ll do it myself.”

Percy nodded and was hesitant to get back to fighting, the image of Nico under a colorful array of lights almost too much to bare.

* * *

 

The fireworks display was pretty much the only opportunity for campers to be alone with their boyfriend or girlfriend, and Percy suddenly began imagining taking Nico out on a canoe and anchoring it to the bottom of the lake. It was an image that he wanted more than anything to bring to life, but as he stood at Nico’s red painted door to his cabin, he found all courage he had earlier completely gone. _Oh gods, I’ll have to ask him on a date. How am I even supposed to do this?_ He knew Nico wasn't the friendliest of people, especially (still) towards Percy, and he said a silent prayer to the gods for him not to run away rejected  _and_ embarrassed. 

Percy gripped the wrought iron skeletal knocker and clanged it on the wood. After three clangs, Nico was at the door, back in his typical black shirt, jeans, and aviator’s jacket combination. He looked shocked, red even, that Percy was standing at his door. “Hey, Percy. What can I do for you?”

“Um… Nico, I need to talk to you.”

“Uh… sure thing. Come in.”

Percy stepped inside of Nico’s cabin—more like cave—and didn’t know where to sit. There was a chair that glistened gray and red in the candlelight, and a bed made from stalagmites and red silk. He glanced at the bed and then at Nico, and eventually decided it was best to sit on his bed. Nico sat across from him and Percy cleared his throat. “The fireworks are tonight.”

“Yeah, I know. Kind of boring,” Nico looked down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs. _Hades. He’s not going to want to go._

“Well… would it be as boring if… you went with me?”

Nico’s head flung up and his brown eyes widened. “Like a date?”

“… yeah. Exactly like a date.”

“Are you asking me out, Percy Jackson?”

Percy felt his face grow hot and he cleared his throat again. “I suppose I am.”

“I’d love to go, then, if it was with you.” Nico cracked a small grin, a little sliver of a smile on his lips. The fact that the seemingly unemotional son of Hades was not only smiling, but blushing up a storm, was enough to make Percy return the gesture. He grabbed Nico’s hand hesitantly as he intertwined their fingers, pressing their foreheads together.


	2. Cuddling Somewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for some slight OOC

As the night grew nearer, Percy felt his palms get sweatier and the collar on his polo shirt get a bit tighter. He felt slightly dressy for a rather casual date, but he didn’t care. He grabbed the picnic basket packed with two bottles of nectar and a tray of still steaming French fries and began to make his way to the lake—the place where Nico and he had agreed to meet.

When he got to the rocky shore, Nico wasn’t in sight. Percy gently set down the picnic basket and took a green canoe from the boatshed, putting it out into the water and willing it to stay put. “I feel kind of under dressed.”

“Gods!” Percy nearly jumped ten feet in the air as Nico appeared before him, a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of skinny jeans that seemed to hug his legs in all of the right places. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” His combat boots crunched on the rocks as hesitantly looked at the water as if it was poisoned with the venom of a thousand rattlesnakes. “Won’t your dad kill me for going out onto the water?”

“I’ll protect you.”

Percy was surprised at the own words that came out of his mouth, and by the way Nico’s face turned a deep crimson, he felt the same. Percy crawled into the canoe first with his picnic basket in hand and helped Nico in. They took an oar and rowed out into the middle of the lake, right where the fireworks were being set up behind the hills. It was a beautiful night out—white stars lighting up the dark sky. Nico was mesmerized by the sight of it, and Percy felt himself smiling. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

Nico nodded. “Very.”

Percy went over the tips of a first date in his head—ones Annabeth had given him—and he suddenly lacked the courage to do anything. _Kiss. Hold hands. Snuggle._ “Nico, come here.”

Nico scooted over to Percy as he placed an arm around his waist, lowering them into the bottom of the canoe so they were laying down. It felt just right, Percy realized, with Nico’s head in between the crook of his neck, his dark hair tickling the skin on Percy’s face slightly. Nico offered up no resistance when Percy wrapped a second arm around his waist, bringing him into his side in a sort of messed up backwards hug. Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath, leaning into Percy’s touch.  “This is… nice.” _Couldn’t think of anything else to say Seaweed Brain?_ Percy mentally cursed himself for being as awkward as he was at being in a relationship, especially one he had wanted for so long.

“It’s amazing.”

Bright multicolored lights began to dot the sky, but all Percy could do was close his eyes and enjoy Nico’s company. This moment was absolutely perfect—his arms around Nico in a secure hug, Nico’s hands on top of his own, the tangling of their legs—combat boots mixing with mint-green Converse, and Percy was tempted to lay a kiss on the son of Hades’s head.


	3. Watching A Movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh goodness, thank you so much for the lovely feedback! You guys are the absolute best! This chapter isn't very detailed, but the next chapter is full of fluff, first kisses, and a lovely at home date :D

A month later, Percy decided to take Nico back to his apartment in New York City.

The whole ride there, he was nervous and anxious, and Percy didn’t blame him—he wasn’t an excellent driver, but since this was a sort of surprise present to his mother and Paul, he couldn’t call them to pick them up. Percy’s mind wandered to how he would tell his parents that he was in a relationship with Nico—only a few months after he and Annabeth were a couple. He figured his parents wouldn’t freak out _that_ much if he was dating a guy—as long as he was happy.

Percy pulled onto the curb in front of the apartment and got out of the car, lugging his suitcase filled with both his and Nico’s clothes. He took a deep breath and glanced at Nico. “Ready?”

Nico nodded.

They walked up the stairs slowly, and knocked on the door. Sally seemed surprised but happy to see Nico, who she gladly invited in. Percy told Nico to go put the suitcase in his room, and now, he sat at the kitchen table before a steaming hot plate of blue chocolate chip cookies and his parents. “What’s wrong, Percy? You said you needed to talk to us.”

“Uh… yeah. Well, the reason why Nico is here is because… we’re kind of dating.”

Paul’s eyes widened and Sally was obviously taken aback. But she didn’t scream or yell, or even storm off. She simply smiled and said, “That’s great, Percy.”

“Really?”

“Just make sure we don’t catch you two, you know…” Paul trailed off and shivered slightly, the thought of his son and his son’s boyfriend secretly doing… _things_ … in his room.

“I promise.”

“Do you want me to go get you two a movie or something? I can give you money if you want to go on a real, real date to a restaurant in the city.” Paul was already reaching for his wallet when Percy shook his head.

“A movie sounds great.”

* * *

 

Percy had never expected to be as scared of a movie as he was of Grave Encounters.

He had faced Minotaurs, Kronos himself, empousa, and a variety of other monsters whose sole purpose was to ensure death of demigods. And here he was, sharing a wool blanket with his boyfriend, curled up into Nico’s side as he threatened to put an empty bowl of popcorn over his face. Nico’s eyes were wide and glinting, and he was smiling at the thought of a paranormal team getting stuck in an insane asylum, even with the gore and sheer terror.

“How are you _smiling_?” Percy asked, alarmed.

“How are you _not_ smiling?” Nico finally averted his attention from the television for the first time since the movie started, and smirked at the sight of Percy halfway under the blankets, clutching Nico’s torso like his life depended on it. “As much as I like it when you hug me, this is a bit ridiculous. C’mon, you’ve seen worse in the Underworld!”

“And you’re about to see worse if you don’t turn this damn thing off.” Percy smiled and tackled Nico to the floor, spilling blueberry soda over his hardwood floor and sending the DVD remote flying across the room. Nico let out a surprised yelp as Percy put his entire body’s weight onto him and leaned put both elbows on his bare chest, putting his chin in his hands and giving Nico a look that made the son of Hades blush a furious red. “Please turn it off?”

“Fine,” Nico growled. “But it’s going to be a little hard if you’re on top of me.”

Percy, satisfied as his small television’s screen went black, crawled into bed and threw his blue sheets over his body. Nico, still pouting, walked over to Percy with crossed arms and slipped into bed beside him, turning the other way without another word. “You’re the best boyfriend ever…” Percy trailed off, planting a gentle kiss on Nico’s shoulder as Nico stirred slightly.

“Yeah. I know.”


	4. On A Date/Kissing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the fluff! Please excuse any OOCness from both Percy & Nico.

When Percy woke up the next morning, he was greeted by seemingly limbs upon limbs of a certain son of Hades. Nico was pressed up against Percy’s side, clutching the hem of his pajama shorts like a life line, his cheek pressed against Percy’s shirt. Percy felt his face grow hot as he tried to step out of bed without waking Nico, but it only caused him to cling to Percy tighter.

And finally, Percy decided to just give up. He laid back onto his bed with a sigh and took in the sight of a very comfy, hair tousled mess that was Nico di Angelo. He looked sound asleep, for once; something that was uncommon amongst most demigods. The hair that he had tied back in a small knot was out, pieces of black and shaggy hair sticking out in every which way. Percy smiled and laid a kiss on Nico’s head, closing his eyes, breathing in the scent of him.

“I am awake you know.”

“Hades!” Percy yelped, jolting away from Nico almost instantly. The son of Hades opened his left eyelid and then the other, chocolate eyes meeting sea-green ones. He smiled sheepishly at the startled son of Poseidon.

“Sorry I scared you.”

“It’s fine. I guess if I’m dating you, I better get used to it,” Percy ran a hand through his hair. “Come on. I smell pancakes.”

He hopped out of bed and began to walk towards the door, but the sight of Nico wearing one of his blue sweatshirts made him stop. It hung off of his shoulder—it was much too large for a person as skinny and small as Nico was. But he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he intertwined Percy’s and his fingers, letting out a yawn.

When they reached the kitchen, Paul was already sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee from a ceramic mug and skimming through the news. Sally was at the stove, the sound and smell of a fresh batch of blue pancakes cooking on the stove.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” His mom said gently. “Good morning, Nico. Did you sleep well?”

“I did, thank you, Mrs. Jackson.”

“Just Sally,” She smiled again. Paul glanced up behind his glasses, and sighed.

“Percy, your mother and I are going out tonight to stay at my sister’s. You and Nico can have the apartment to yourselves, as long as you promise not to burn it down or have a bunch of monster dust in it.”

Percy’s eyes flitted towards Nico, whose face flushed red at even the thought of Percy and him having alone time—and Percy couldn’t agree more. He would be able to fix dinner for them and watch television—and try as much as possible to be a normal couple even for one night.

“Thank you guys.”

“It’s no problem. Just,” Paul ran a hand through his hair, as if trying to find the right words. “You know, don’t do anything you might not be ready for. Both of you.”

“We won’t, dad.”

“Well. Good. That’s good. I’m leaving you twenty bucks for if you want to order dinner or go out and buy the ingredients. Or for anything else you may… erm, need. Behave and please don’t burn down our apartment, Percy.”

“I won’t.”

“Alright. I trust you two,” Paul waved his index finger at both demigods, taking Sally’s hand and narrowing his eyes. “Don’t make me regret it.”

They closed the door behind him, and before Percy could even prompt that they should just order pizza or Chinese, Nico was already grabbing the flour from the cabinet near the fridge. “Whoa. What are you doing?”

“Making us some homemade pasta for dinner. What else would I be doing?”

Percy scoffed, laughing at Nico who acted as if it was the most normal thing in the world to just be able to make homemade pasta without any sort of presser or machine. Nico obviously didn’t think it was as funny as Percy, because he pursed his front lip forwards in a pout and silently stirred the pasta dough.

Percy sighed and walked up from behind Nico, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing a gentle kiss on Nico’s temple. Nico turned, leaning into Percy slightly as another kiss was placed on his forehead. “I’m not pouting,” Nico said. “I’m just concentrating.”

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Just staying like that is… fine with me.” Nico coughed and Percy watched as a healthy red glow spread to his cheeks and the tip of his nose.

“You’re cute when you blush.”

_“Non riesco a concentrarmi.”_

And hell if that didn’t make Percy’s face turn the color of a tomato. Although he knew of Nico’s Italian roots from his human mother’s side of the family, he had never heard the little son of Hades speak the language. But with how natural it sounded rolling off of his tongue, one couldn’t help but blush themselves. “Something about concentration?” Percy prompted, and watched as Nico smirked, beginning to roll out the dough.

“Yes. I said that I couldn’t concentrate. All because of you.”

“I have a habit of doing that to a certain son of Hades, don’t I?”

Nico’s mouth curled into a gentle smile. “I suppose you do, Percy Jackson.”

And Percy realized that this moment couldn’t get any more perfect—even if it tried.

* * *

 

Nico’s homemade pasta dish was just about the most delicious Italian food he had ever had. Everything was authentically homemade, including the cheese sauce. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“When I was away from Camp, I traveled to Italy to try to find a way to stay connected with the Italian side of me. And there I learned how to cook, make pasta, make sauces…” He trailed off, taking another bite and staring at the television.

“You’re an amazing cook, Nico.”

Nico smiled and set his dish aside, curling up further into the corner of the couch, his legs sprawled across Percy’s lap under a wool blanket. It was raining outside, and some of the only light in the house were candles lit everywhere, and the bright orange street lamps outside. But Percy couldn’t have asked for a better night together with Nico.

“What do you want to do, after dinner?” Nico asked, raising an eyebrow.

Percy thought of a million things—like taking Nico to the Empire State Building again, or going to Times Square, or even to see a Broadway show. There were hundreds of possibilities, and yet, all Percy wanted to do was to stay here. This was their escape from the demigod world, even if it was a temporary one, and it was comfortable. “Well, I want to do something now, if that’s okay.”

Nico nodded. And then Percy set down his own dish, leaning towards Nico, hands on either side of his hips, and kissed Nico straight on the lips. He felt the son of Hades melt into him instantly, sinking back into the couch. His lips tasted like seasoning and parmesan cheese, with a hint of blue coke. It was the first time Percy had ever kissed someone—Annabeth had been the one to kiss him when they were in the Labyrinth.

Nico’s hands sprawled across Percy’s back, pulling him in for a deeper hug, both sets of lips splitting open to gain better access.

And when they pulled back, both faces red with a healthy glow, Percy wrapped his arms around Nico, burying his face into the crook of his neck. He was tempted to whisper something about love, but he knew that it was too early in their relationship to determine if it was _even_ love, or just the newfound sense of being happy with someone you truly cared about.

“Let’s just stay like this,” Percy whispered, his eyes meeting Nico’s.

Nico nodded and shut his eyes, and in a matter of ten minutes, they were both fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I figured that the times Nico was away from Camp, he would try to figure out more of his mother's side of the family. And since he's gradually gaining memories back from his time as a kid, and since he traveled to Italy and such, that he learned quite a bit of Italian on the way and already grew up around the language because of his mother.   
> But once again, please excuse the OOCness.


	5. Wearing Each Other's Clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken so long!  
> I've had a lot of paperwork to do for the college I'm taking classes at, and my regular classes seem to be consuming me. Plus, I made it into my school's musical as a main part, so I don't know when this will be able to be updated again.  
> The Lost Hero is probably going to start next chapter, and if not the next one, then the chapter after that. It's going to basically be angst from here on out, and will stop with the 30 Day OTP Challenge for awhile. You also probably noticed that I've changed some of the additional tags and warnings, so I've also decided to base this fic off of the song "Terrible Things" by Mayday Parade, it's such a terribly tragic story :(

Percy awoke to the smell of sulfur and the lingering smell of fettuccini alfredo. He smiled slightly at the sleeping son of Hades, curled against Percy’s chest like a pet cat. The wool blanket was wrapped around his body, having snatched it yet again sometime throughout the night.

And boy was Percy _freezing._ It was still dark outside due to a storm rumbling through New York—the thunder shaking the windows of Percy’s apartment. Lightning flashed across the sky—the only other light in the room being from the half-melted candles dotted around the room like Christmas lights. Percy was shocked that Nico was still managing to sleep through a storm like this.

And then a large rumble that even made Percy jump caused Nico’s eyelids to flutter open in shock. He stared at Percy with half lidded eyes and then back at the sky before eventually snuggling closer to Percy, beginning to try to bury himself in the corner of the couch.

“Nico,” Percy said gently. “My parents will be back soon and I want to make you breakfast.”

Nico mumbled something in what sounded like Italian as Percy got up. He clung to Percy’s waist before finally allowing Percy to slink into the kitchen to begin making a batch of pancakes.

As Percy began to add milk to his pancake mixture, he watched Nico sulk off to Percy’s room. He half-expected Nico to fall asleep wrapped in Percy’s comforters, but when he walked back out, he was wearing one of Percy’s thin grey hoodies. It was much too big for him—a lot like the sweater he had worn yesterday night of Percy’s—and yet again, he didn’t seem to mind.

He rubbed his haggard eyes and sat down at the kitchen table, letting out a yawn. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Have any dreams?” Percy prompted, flipping the first set of four pancakes on the pan.

“No,” Nico said. “I guess you’re full of… anti-nightmarish stuff.”

“Does that make me even _more_ special?”

Percy watched a smirk curl on Nico’s lips. “As if your ego wasn’t big enough already, Jackson. Besides, you’re already the most special person to me anyways.”

It such a bold statement that it made Percy do a double take. He whipped around and stared at Nico, who was casually reading through the obituary section of the newspaper. “You really mean that?”

“No, Perce, I’m lying. Obviously, idiot. Of course you’re the most special person to me.”

“Well. You’re the most special _and_ the most important person to me.” _Gods I hope I don’t sound like a lovesick idiot._  Percy leaned over Nico’s face and placed a gentle and chaste kiss upon his lips. Nico smiled into it, grabbing Percy’s face before eventually letting him go.

“Hurry up with the pancakes. I’m hungry.”

“Maybe that’s because you don’t eat unless someone physically _offers_ you food?” Percy smirked himself and placed two pancakes on Nico’s plate, and two on his own. He got out a stick of butter and a bottle of maple syrup from the pantry cabinets.

“Hey, I eat!” Nico protested.

“Pasta and tomatoes don’t count.”

Nico was silent.

“Exactly.”

Percy held Nico’s hand while they ate, and sometimes leaned in for another quick kiss. Nico seemed to enjoy it—his face was red for almost the entirety of the breakfast. He complimented Percy’s ability to cook pancakes well enough, but challenged him to make a homemade batch of them, for which Percy laughed. The only way he made pancakes was if they were from a box, and you could add blue food coloring to the batter without screwing up the recipe.

And then Percy leaned back in his seat, watching as Nico silently take small sips of coffee. The bright lightning from outside seemed to illuminate all of the highlights on the skin of his face—and even make it seem as if those dark eyes of his seemed to glow, even for just a brief moment. His black hair was scraggly and choppy—but it was just the perfect length for Percy to run his fingers through.

“You’re staring at me,” Nico said, without even glancing at Percy.

“Sorry,” Percy’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“Don’t. It makes me feel… nice. When you pay attention to me like that. No one’s done that with me before.”

“Are you trying to say you’re happy?”

“Maybe,” Nico scoffed. “If this is what happiness feels like.”

Percy felt bad for the kid. He had lost his sister and was completely alone—in nearly every sense of the way. He was a son of Hades and had no siblings to go to—expect for one he had to conjure up in an empty grave. And then Percy _certainly_ hadn’t been the best comfort or best friend during the time.

“I know that sometimes… well, _most_ of the time, I can be a clueless idiot. But I promise I’m trying. I like you, Nico. I like… seriously, seriously like you. You’re amazing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my boyfriend. I’m saying that because well… because it’s true.”

Nico turned to face Percy, tears glistening in his eyes. But he was smiling—a big, kid-like grin—and he threw his arms around Percy in a tight hug, body shaking slightly. “Thank you,” He whispered into Percy’s shirt. 


End file.
